Daily Devotional For Thursday, August 13, 2026
Good morning Southside! Our daily devotional for today comes from Jeremiah 31:15-16:
“ This is what the LORD says: “A cry is heard in Ramah— deep anguish and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted— for her children are gone.” (16) But now this is what the LORD says: “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the LORD. “Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy” (NLT).
I know this is not Christmas, but have you ever thought how gruesome and bloody the Christmas story is? If you were ever to read the paraphrase of it by Madeline L’Engle’s book, The Glorious Impossible, she tells the story and illustrates it with pictures. When she gets to the part where King Herod kills all the baby boys 2 years and under, she illustrates with the painting called “The Massacre of the Innocents” by Giotto. You can see it here at this link: The Massacre Of The Innocents. It is intended to show that for that first Christmas, it was not all joy for everyone. We learn that King Herod ordered this massacre after the magi refused to return to him (Matthew 2:12, 16). This was the very dark, demonic and evil side to Christmas for Matthew. It wasn’t all joyous for everyone.
In our text for today, as Mary rejoices, Rachel weeps. Rachel refuses all comfort and she will so for the rest of her life. Why does Jeremiah mention this here and how does it relate to Jewish exiles in Babylon? When we read the Old Testament, Rachel was the wife of Jacob. In her first pregnancy, she had much pain in this child’s birth (Gen. 35:16). So, she named him “Ben-Omi,” meaning, “Son of my trouble.” Jacob later would rename this son Benjamin.
Rachel’s two other sons were Ephraim and Manasseh. They all resided in the northern kingdom of Israel, where Bethlehem was and is today. Therefore, Rachel represents all mothers in Bethlehem. Rachel died just outside of Ephraim, near Bethlehem. So, when King Herod went on a killing spree, it reminded Matthew of Rachel, who went weeping to a grave near Ramah.
The prophet Jeremiah did not have all the answers to all the suffering in the world, but he sure knew where to go and Who to turn to about it. Through God’s prophecy, his prophecy did not end in tears, but laughter. Why was Mother Rachel inconsolable? To understand God’s comfort, one must first understand Rachel’s loss. In some way, Jeremiah symbolically could hear the sound of Rachel’s sobbing in Jerusalem, coming all the way from Ramah. Ramah was a transit camp for refugees (cf. Jer. 40:1).
The Babylonians dragged their prisoners five miles from Jerusalem to a staging area at Ramah, where they were chained together for the long march to Babylon. This had to be a horrible place for these Jews which would soon be held for deportation to Babylon. You can almost hear the chains on their shackles making noises. You can almost see the open wounds from the chafing of the shackles. All their children and babies were gone – died by starvation, malnutrition and disease – all at the hands of the Babylonians. Puritan Matthew Henry says this should be the response of any Christian to suffering:
“We are not forbidden to mourn in such a case; allowances are made for natural affection. But we must not suffer our sorrow to run into an extreme, to hinder our joy in God, or take us off from our duty to him. Though we mourn, we must not murmur” (Source: Philip Ryken, Preach The Word, “Jeremiah And Lamentations: From Sorrow To Hope, p. 456).
This is how God’s Word tells us to deal with suffering. Even losses that seem inconsolable can be consoled with the Presence of the Holy Spirit and the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew wants us to know that Jesus, the Messiah, came to bring comfort, peace, joy and life to the “Rachels” of this world. If you are like Rachel, then there is comfort for you.
Reflection Assignment: What in your life has been a hurt to get past? What have you done to console your hurt, your disappointment, and your anger? It is easy for anyone to become bitter. This passage encourages us to become better with the Lord’s help. What is something from your past that the Lord has helped you either move from bitterness to being better or bitterness to joy? What did you learn from this and how can you use that to help someone else?
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Corinthians 1:4, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, help me to take the comfort You give me to comfort others, especially those who have no hope in You. Lord, I do not want to become bitter by the evil in this world. I want to be better so that I can help others in their trouble and sorrow with the hope they come to Christ. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly